Guest blogger Tina Aguilar is an arts advocate, Cara Mia Board Member and teaches humanities/cultural studies at Brookhaven College.

This week, Cara Mia Theatre Company premiere’s Crystal City 1969, a play based on the courage and tenacity of Crystal City High School student walkout leaders Diana Serna Aguilera, Severita Lara and Mario Treviño. Along with the influence of civil rights leader José Angel Gutiérrez, these three Crystal City High School students dared to change their school’s discriminatory standards and gain opportunities that many teenagers desired in South Texas. Chicano and Mexican students were not represented in typical high school organizations and were dissuaded from pursuing college and seeking careers rare for Hispanics at the time. The Crystal City 1969 performance aligns with the 40th anniversary of this significant event in Chicano history.

By making their voices known to the Crystal City High School Board and with the determination of José Angel Gutiérrez, these students paved the way and affected change in this Texas town. Crystal City 1969, by playwrights David Lozano and Raul Treviño, opens on Wednesday at the Latino Cultural Center.

Check the Art&Seek blog this week for interviews with the Crystal City 1969 writers and student leaders.